2
POPSSaudi Arabia bans sale of dogs, cats in capital This reminds me of the old joke, "Why do Baptists disapprove of sex? It could lead to dancing." This is an example of religious governance leading to interference in what should be totally secular areas of life. Of course we in the west pamper and coddle our pets, and often react with revulsion at the notion that there are places in the world where dogs are food animals. It's slightly more understandable in the case of dogs, because Islam considers them unclean, but that doesn't explain the ban on cats as well. The story about the Chinese emperor who cut the sleeve from a priceless robe rather than disturb his sleeping kitten has also been told about Mohammed. The article also fails to explain why the law applies only to men. If they realized that by allowing women to own pets, they have a privelege men don't, the entire fabric of Saudi society could come unraveled.
0
POPSSelf Ascent ngo bhubaneswar orissa india Self Ascent, aims to cater to the needs of civil society organizations, government departments, apex bodies in the fields of planning, research, training and capacity building in above sectors.
3
POPSEnding Londonistan Preface by Melanie Phillips Both at home and abroad, Britain has lost any shared understanding of the threats that must be faced and how to do so. Indeed, with its steady loss of the power of self-governance to the European Union, there is no longer any clear idea of where political responsibility lies. In short, the RUSI paper asserts that Britain's security is being put at greater risk from without because British democracy itself is at risk from within . In allowing the progressive fragmentation of British society and the weakening of its military and defense infrastructure, the government has left Britain open to the pincer movement of cultural colonization and terrorist attack. The only solution is for Britain to rediscover its historic identity, restore its power to rule itself, and reassert the mutual obligations between government and people. Gwyn Prins and Robert Salisbury, "Risk, Threat and Security," RUSI Journal, Feb. 2008.
13
POPSThe Last Hero of Tiananmen After I left his apartment, though, I decided it was unfair to expect the elderly doctor to continue standing up to the party. He had already achieved more than most and paid a price for it. I doubted the government would ever let him visit his daughter and grandson, but how could anyone expect him to give up that hope?There was only so much one man could do, and only so much a nation could ask of him.
13
POPSAsteroid Impacts On Earth: A Protection Plan Indeed, over billions of years, the Tree of Life here on Earth has been whacked time and time again by what Schweickart labeled as “the crazy cosmic gardener.” “The good news is that we can do something about this,” the former astronaut explained. “The marriage of we human beings and the machines that we’ve created are now at a level of capability which enables us to fire the crazy cosmic gardener. We can stop this process from occurring again.”
0
POPSTrouble in Public-Private Toll Road Paradise? In the document they RiskMetrics Group, an international corporate governance service ] authored is a report titled, "Infrastructure Funds: Managing, Financing and Accounting; In Whose Interest?" The 39-page report details a host of concerns and issues that should give pause to anyone who thinks PPP infrastructure deals are free of serious risk. We hope government officials at both the federal and state level will carefully study the RiskMetrics report. As we all know tremendous pressure is being applied by the Federal Highway Administration to push state government into public-private partnerships deals, partnerships we fear will lead to disaster. We also hope this report will give rise to a greater examination of the financial impact these partnerships will have on the public. Special caution must be exercised to ensure that public infrastructure such has highways, rails, and utilities serve the public interest above any private interest.
0
POPSBillionaire Blogging Mark Cuban has long had one. Ross Perot launched one last week. Carl Icahn plans to start blogging today It's clear that the prominence and success of these billionaires makes others curious what they have to say. Perot's first post was only a press release announcing the site, PerotCharts.com. It's received 74 responses in a few days.
8
POPSSynthetic Biology: funders move to address social and ethical challenges It reviews what synthetic biology is, where it has come from, and where it is going, as well as making recommendations to research funders and the scientific community about how social and ethical issues should be addressed. These include: * The need for scientists to engage with the public early in the development of synthetic biology to ensure that research does not get ahead of public attitudes * Synthetic biology must not be over-hyped by its supporters and critics should not exaggerate the risks it poses * Reviewing current regulations and guidelines to ensure that an appropriate governance framework is in place before most synthetic biology applications are introduced
11
POPSThe Economics Of Democracy In Muslim Countries
The Status of Democracy Index (SDI) measures each country's progress toward democratic governance through multiple variables. First, it measures governance through four variables: how heads of state and members of the legislature are selected; political party development; suffrage; and the maturity of civil liberties The Status of Democracy Index rates each of these nine variables on a three-point scale: 0 (nonexistent), 1 (emerging), or 2 (fully present). Some of the variables, such as media freedom, religious liberty, and respect for human rights, are easy to quantify, whereas measuring human development is more subjective. Economic freedom can be scored on the level of governmental interference in the economy: 0 (strong), 1 (moderate), and 2 (low). It is then possible to convert the totals to a percentage for ease of digestion. Only three of these countries—Mali, Guyana, and Suriname —are considered full democracies. http://www.meforum.org/article/1921
1
Pops
Newest Clips
Latest Comments
Most Pops
Print
Save
Turn on live update